Thanks for all the great Facebook fans who kindly offered ideas for special events! There were many great ideas, some of which we plan for this year, some we will plan on for next year.
Check out the line-up of Dill’iciously Herbs, Gallery On The Go, Perfect Perennials and Jazz Up Junk!
Call now to sign up!
Our first shipments of garden accessories have arrived! And there are some very nice things. Judy has her dibs on the giant green frog. Soni kinda likes the horses.
There are now angels among us! St Francis is nearly 30 inches tall and soooo nice!
We have big frogs and little frogs.
Vases and tea lights to decorate your patio.
And wall art with horses in mind!
We open for the 2016 Spring season April 11!
It may be white and snowy out there, but spring is right around the corner! Growing up the in the florist industry, I was conditioned that as soon as the last Valentine’s arrangement went out the door, we switched gears and started thinking about seeding peppers,
planting up geraniums,
taking cuttings, making sure the furnaces are in working order.
Generators, too! March has the most unstable weather of the year, I swear!
Soon this winter flag for a hydrangea will be snipped away and green, hardy foliage will emerge, tiny buds will push up and new, bright green and creamy white blossoms will replace this tired reminder of last summer.
The butterfly weed seeds which scattered from these perfect pods will germinate in the moist soil and create new food for monarch butterflies.
These scrawny, sorry hanging baskets…….
will bring a smile to the faces of anyone driving down Highway 5 mid-summer (except, of course, those poor guys who take such good care of them!)
Fall planted bulbs will peek out their brave little faces, only to take a hit from winter. The flowers always win, though!
And, of course, spring brings Container workshops and Dirty Dining!
We are also in the process of adding new events, such as a Gallery on the Go painting evening, classes on herbs, succulents and more.
I just can’t wait!!!!!!!!
It’s time for our annual Bedding Plant sale! We had a great Spring 2015, but are tired of watering, so now it’s your turn!
Hanging Baskets and Planters are 20% off!
Most other annuals are Buy one Get one Free! The only exception to that is 20% off Dinner Plate Dahlias, Caladium, Callas and Elephant Ears.
Join us for Lunch Monday through Saturday from 11 to 1:30 through June 27. We will be closed June 28 through July 5 for R&R, then re-opening the week of July 6-11 for our Annual Garden Party!
Well, the calendar says it is spring. And the last ten days felt like spring. Today, not so much. And have you seen the forecast?!? I heard a nasty rumor of 4-8 inches of snow by Wednesday.
But don’t tell the geraniums!
They are doing their level best to grow and thrive. See those tiny little white roots poking through? Sometimes it’s like watching a pot of water come to a boil. You watch and look and look and watch and wait for the first sight of pure white hair-like roots making their way to the edge of the pot. Then, all of a sudden, there they are! And we get so excited! Just like getting to open the first gift at Christmas. Or seeing the first foal hit the ground each year. More little miracles. It’s what this growing stuff is all about.
A few of the liners are blooming. Crazytunia Black Mamba is always one of the first to show off.
And even though winter is going to hang on a bit longer, the geese have been noisily making their way north. They are a sure sign that a few more flakes a snow mean nothing. Spring is really here!
What a difference a week makes in the greenhouse! While the first week in March was so frustrating, mostly due to the weather, the second week felt much more bright and cheery. 🙂
And all the little miracles keep popping up. Remember what these looked like a week ago?
Last week I also worried about whether Mabel would root out. Look at those tiny little roots!
And this Mabel Grey is really anxious to get growing!
She didn’t even lose much foliage. Can’t you smell that wonderful lemon scent? Makes my mouth water just looking at this picture!
We finally got enough liners in to plant up the city hanging baskets. Kinda hard to believe that this….
will be this in a few short months!
I took a quick stroll through the display bed on Sunday. This optimistic daffodil is starting to peek through the mulch. The first break of dormancy always makes me smile!
Snow Angel heuchera is an evergreen perennial, but I’m always excited to see she made it through another winter.
As excited as I am to see these sure signs of spring, I had to pull myself up short and remember that it really is only the middle of March. It is way too early to do clean-up work in the perennial beds. I itch to cut back dead foliage, rake up the debris. As nice as our forecast is, we will still suffer from some pretty cold nights. A severe drop in temperature after perennials think summer is coming can be fatal. More perennials die from a late killing frost than from very cold January! So I am trying to be content with watching and waiting. Sigh.
And we were off to the races this week! And what a week it was. Our first liners (small plants with a root ball the size of a quarter) came on a semi from California Monday morning. There were nearly 10,000 plants on that pallet and all were in beautiful condition. We were so excited to get our hands dirty!
But first they had to wait a day so we could get flats filled with pots and soil.
Jeanie spent Monday getting started with the seeding. First the peppers, some of the herbs, marigolds to put in early planters. One of the heaters in Ruby’s House wasn’t working properly, but one night of cold wouldn’t hurt the freshly seeded trays.
Tuesday brought very cold temperatures. The high was a couple of degrees below zero and the wind howled from the west. Our propane provider loves days like this, as long as he doesn’t have to do any emergency furnace repairs!
Jeanie’s next job was to take cuttings of the few stock plants we keep over. These are from plants that are hard to find (and tolerate our neglect over the winter!). We are careful not to take cuttings from plants which are patented. Most of the cool, new varieties are patented, so if we do propagate them, we need to pay royalties. The nice full tray on the left is our favorite scented geranium, Mabel Gray. She has the best lemon scent and is exceedingly difficult to root out. If there are 45 cuttings, we can probably count on 10 plants. That is why most commercial growers leave her alone.
Most of our geraniums also came in Tuesday. The FedEx truck and our staff had to plow their way through a nasty snow bank to get in and out of the yard.
Wednesday was also bitterly cold. Lori and Cathy and Kaitlin planted up as many hanging baskets as possible, as well as some of the regular pots. Our scheduling is very awkward the first few weeks. It would be nice if everything could be planted as soon as it arrives. But because each variety of plant goes into several different types of containers, and we grow some of all of them in Rosie’s House and the extra go in to Ruby’s House, the planting gets staggered. Top that with the fact that the liners come from about 8 different growers, all shipping at different times, and we sometimes feel like we are herding cats!
So on Wednesday, all my best laid plans were challenged. We are not sure why, but one of our major suppliers (also from the frigid north) decided to ship 3 cases of tender liners ground in minus zero temperatures. In nearly 50 years, we have never received cases of plants that were frozen solid into the center of the box! That threw a monkey wrench into our plans in so many ways. These plants had been ordered in August so availability was an issue. We won’t receive replacements for what is available until the middle of next week. And the smell of frozen plants is nasty!
And today we received a case that had been shipped Next Day Air on Tuesday (also frozen). Did you know that Friday is the day after Tuesday?
On the bright side, Thursday morning we woke up to minus 19 degrees Fahrenheit but it warmed up to 24 above! And today we saw 40 degrees. Spring is coming!
One of the best things about running a greenhouse is witnessing the little miracles in life. This morning there was no sign of life in this tray of dirt. Janie Bright Yellow marigolds are reaching for the stars! This always makes me smile. 🙂
Don’t forget to sign up for our container workshops and Dirty Dining!
Now is the perfect time to plant your spring blooming bulbs. This year’s bulbs are very nice, large bulbs. Pick them up this weekend when you join us for Oktoberfest at The Prairie Bistro or call 756-6072 to make sure we are in (we almost always are!).
My personal fav is the Spring Green tulip!
To plant, dig a hole about 6 inches deep and at least 12 inches wide. Add a dusting of bone meal, place 3-5 or more bulbs in each hole, and cover with soil. Water well. Keep the spot moist until freeze up.
Okay, I meant my favorite tulip. I think my favorite fall bulb is daffodil. They are deer resistant and seem to tolerate moist springs better than tulips (at least they out performed many other plants this spring 🙂 ). Use the same planting procedure as for the tulips.
Squills are great naturalizers. Plant these little gems about 2 inches deep.
Don’t forget crocus! Crocus need to reside about 3 inches below the surface of the soil.
Yeah, I know this isn’t a fall bulb, but I really couldn’t resist tucking this photo in. Shockwave Phlox is another favorite. This resilient soul is planted in a flower bed that got absolutely no extra anything this summer. Even before it bloomed, the foliage brightened up the landscape!
So we are supposed to come to this show to help us figure out what to order for next year. Yeah, right. Can’t we have them all?
This cute little Scentopia Heliotrope?
This Crazytunia Terracotta is tempting.
Saguna Radiant Blue caught my eye.
Sunpatiens Blush Pink had a nice contrast between the blossom and leaves.
Kaitlin had a her eye on Marvel Great Purple Petunia.
Judy says we can’t have all of them. So which ones do you like?
Judy and Soni and Kaitlin are in Minneapolis playing Santa’s Elves this week! It is time to do all of our ordering for the 2015 Spring Season. On our way, we played a bit today. This perfect Japanese Anemone at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum was blooming it’s fool head off!
The Arboretum has a special ‘Nature in Glass’ display right now. Amazing!
We were inspired and worn out!
Stay tuned for more! 
The Flower House Garden Center